Package including dish and cover



4, 1968 T. W. ORLANDO 3,418,141

PACKAGE INCLUDING DISH AND COVER Filed Now 15. 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 10 INVEN'TOR. 2 Thomas William Orlando JWH 1 ATTORNEY Dec. 24, 1968 'r. w. ORLANDO PACKAGE INCLUDING DISH AND COVER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 15. 1965 'yFig. 1

INVENTOR. Thomas William Orlando ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,418,141 PACKAGE INCLUDING DISH AND COVER Thomas William Orlando, Colerain Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, assignor to The Procter & Gamble Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Nov. 15, 1965, Ser. No. 507,804 6 Claims. (Cl. 99-179) This invention relates to the art of packaging and more particularly to a convenience package for sticktype products such as butter, margarine and the like in which a serving dish is incorporated into the package structure.

Margarine, butter and like products are commonly sold in individually wrapped quarter-pound sticks, four of which are packaged in a carton. When used or served, each individual stick must be unwrapped and is then oftentimes placed in a serving dish. At times a clean serving dish may not be immediately available especially when the package is initially opened. Thus it frequently happens that the product is used and the remainder stored in its original wrapper. This is inconvenient, messy and unsanitary because the product must be handled repeatedly by the user.

It is an object of this invention to obviate the above difficulties.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a package for margarine and like products which includes both a dish and a cover as separate individual components of the package thus making a complete serving dish immediately available when the package is initially unwrapped.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a package of the above character in which the elements of the serving dish are an integral part of the package and protect the product from damage during storage and shipment.

Still a further object of the present invention is the provision of a preferred package for margarine and like products, the components of which can be made from transparent materials if desired so that a consumer can visually inspect the product prior to purchase thereof.

The nature and substance of the invention can be summarized briefly as comprising a package for sticktype products including a base member designed to receive and secure a plurality of product sticks in sideby-side snug relationship. A cover member is provided having internal means to receive and secure the other end of the product sticks in side-by-side snug relationship. A sleeve member is interposed between the base and cover members to complete the package around the product. The package components may be overwrapped in a preferred embodiment with a flexible film including a tear tape opening device. In a modified construction, one or more stiffening members may be used within the sleeve member to add to the overall rigidity of the package.

The above-described package may be used to store and ship a plurality of sticks of margarine, butter and like products. When the product is to be used the outer wrapper is removed and the base and cover members are disassembled from the sleeve member. The base and cover members are combined to form a serving dish so that the first and each successive product stick may Patented Dec. 24, 1968 ICC be placed on the base member for serving. When not in use the product may be enclosed by putting the cover member in place on the base member.

While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter regarded as forming the present invention, it is believed the invention will be better understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the package of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is an elevation in cross section taken on the line 22 of FIGURE 1 showing the product sticks in position and the manner in which they are secured between the cover and base members.

FIGURE 3 is an end elevation in cross section taken on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1 also showing the assembled package and the manner of holding the product sticks.

FIGURE 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the base and cover members separated after disassembly from the package to provide a serving dish for the product originally stored therein.

For convenience, the product in the package will be referred to as margarine in the ensuing description. It will he understood, however, that this is purely for exemplary purposes. Butter sticks, lard sticks or any other edible nonamorphous product can be packaged within the contemplation of the present invention. Thus, the nature of the product is not critical to the successful practice of the invention.

The present package is illustrated in FIGURES 13. It comprises a base member 10, a sleeve member 12 and a cover member 14 enclosing a plurality of margarine sticks 16.

The base member 10 may be molded from polyethylene or any equivalent plastic material. It may be transparent if desired so that the margarine sticks 16 are visible to the consumer. The structure of the base member 10 includes a bottom wall 18 and an upwardly projecting retaining wall 20 which surrounds the margarine sticks 16 at one end and holds them snugly in place. Any upwardly projecting retaining means may be used in place of the wall 20. For example, a plurality of short projecting elements can be used. The only essential requirement is that the retaining means surround and receive the ends of the product sticks in side-by-side snug relationship.

The side wall 20 also extends downwardly below the bottom wall 18 to the wall 22 which serves as a support for the base member 10. The cross section of the base member 10 also includes an upstanding wall 24 and a ledge 26. A peripheral flange 28 is provided to snugly receive the sleeve member 12 in telescoping relationship. In general, the cross section of the base member 10 beyond the bottom wall 18 is substantially uniform as will be appreciated by an inspection of FIGURES 2 and 3.

The cover member 14 may be formed of the same or similar materials as the base member 10 although it need not be formed of an identical material. The cover member 14 comprises a top wall 30 and a downwardly extending retaining wall 32 which surrounds the upper portion of the margarine sticks 16 and holds them snugly in place. Any downwardly extending retaining means may be used in place of the wall 32. For example, a plurality of short projecting elements can be used. The only essential requirement is that the retaining means surround and receive the upper ends of the product sticks in side-by-side snug relationship.

The cover member 14 also includes a side wall 34, a ledge 36 and a flange 38. Thus, the cross section of the cover member 14 beyond the retaining wall 32 is substantially uniform. The flange 38 is designed to telescopically receive the sleeve member 12.

The sleeve member 12 may be composed of relatively rigid plastic materials such as polyethylene or the like or it can be formed from paperboard or similar materials. The sleeve member 12 has four relatively large flat surfaces and normally carries printed advertising copy and instructional material thereon. The material of the sleeve member 12 may be selected so that it is transparent to allow product inspection.

As already noted, the sleeve member 12 is telescoped over the flange 38 of the cover member 14 at one end and over the flange 28 of the base member at the other end to fully enclose the margarine sticks '16 which are maintained in side-by-side snug relationship by the retaining walls 32 and 20. The sleeve member 12 may be joined to the cover member 14 and the base member 10 by other equivalent means. For example, the three elements may be placed in abutting relationship and secured by a pressure sensitive tape. Other equivalent ways of joining these elements will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

In a preferred construction the assembled package is overwrapped with an outer wrapper 40. The edges of the wrapper are folded, tucked and sealed as at 42 to complete the package. The outer wrapper may be any thin flexible transparent or opaque wrapper material commonly in commercial use such as polyethylene, paper and the like. A conventional tear tape (not shown) may be incorporated in the outer wrapper 40 to complete the finished package.

When the margarine is to be used, the outer wrapper 40 is removed and the base member 10 and cover member 14 are disassembled from the sleeve member 12. The base member 10 is converted to a serving dish by inverting it from the position as shown, for example, in FIG- URE 2. It then rests on the surface 44 and is in position to receive a margarine stick 16 in the depression 46 as shown in FIGURE 4. The length and width dimensions of the depression 46 are somewhat greater than the dimensions of the individual margarine sticks 16 so that the base member 10 can be converted to use as a sewing dish. The cover member 14 can be snugly fitted on the base member 10 by sliding the flange 38 over the upstanding wall 24 as will be appreciated by an examination of FIGURE 4 of the drawings.

As is customary, each margarine stick 16 is wrapped individually in conventional wrapping material. For convenience, three adjoining sticks may be banded together for ready separation and storage in a suitable place when the first stick is unwrapped and placed in the serving dish. Then when the second stick is needed, the band can be broken but since only 'two sticks remain, these can conveniently be stored loose in a refrigerator. After the first stick is used, the serving dish formed from the base member 10 and the cover member '14 can be used successively to receive and store each of the remaining sticks of margarine.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A package for stick-type products such as butter, margarine and the like comprising a base member having a bottom wall and upwardly projecting retaining means, said upwardly projecting retaining means surrounding and receiving the ends of a plurality of product sticks in side-by-side snug relationship, a sleeve member, means for joining the opening at one end of said sleeve member to said base member, a cover member, said cover member having a top wall and downwardly extending retaining means, said downwardly extending retaining means surrounding and receiving the other ends of said plurality of product sticks in side-by-side snug relationship, means for joining the opening at the other end of said sleeve member to said cover member to fully enclose and support said plurality of product sticks, said base member having a depression for receiving and supporting one of said product sticks after the package components are disassembled to remove the contents thereof, said cover member fitting on said base member to cover said product stick whereby said base member and said cover member combine to form a serving dish.

2. A package for stick-type products such as butter, margarine and the like comprising a base member having a bottom wall and an upwardly projecting retaining wall, said upwardly projecting retaining wall surrounding and receiving the ends of a plurality of product sticks in sideby-side snug relationship, a sleeve member, means for joining the opening at one end of said sleeve member to said base member, a cover member, said cover member having a top wall and a downwardly extending retaining wall, said downwardly extending retaining wall surrounding and receiving the other ends of said plurality of product sticks in side-by-side snug relationship, means for joining the opening at the other end of said sleeve member to said cover member to fully enclose and support said plurality of product sticks, said base member having a depression for receiving and supporting one of said 7 product sticks after the package components are disas sembled to remove the contents thereof, said cover member fitting on said base member to cover said product stick whereby said base member and said cover member combine to form a serving dish.

3. A package for stick-type products such as butter, margarine and the like comprising a base member having a bottom wall and an upwardly projecting retaining wall,

said upwardly projecting retaining wall surrounding and receiving the ends of a plurality of product sticks in sideby-side snug relationship, said base member having a peripheral flange, a sleeve member telescoped over said flange, a cover member, said cover member having a top wall and a downwardly extending retaining wall, said downwardly extending retaining wall surrounding and receiving the other ends of said plurality of product sticks in side-by-side snug relationship, said cover member having a peripheral flange, the other end of said sleeve member being telescoped over said flange of said cover member to fully enclose and support said plurality of product sticks, said base member having a depression for receiving and supporting one of said product sticks after the package components are disassembled to remove the contents thereof, said cover member fitting on said base member to cover said product stick whereby said base member and said cover member combine to form a serving dish.

4. A package as claimed in claim 3 wherein said depression is formed in the base member on the side opposite the upwardly extending retaining wall, said depression being formed by the bottom wall and a downward extension of said retaining wall, the length and width of the depression being somewhat greater than the dimensions of each individual product stick so that the base member can be converted to use a serving dish by inverting same with respect to its relative position with the cover member in the completed package.

5. A package as claimed in claim 3 including an outwardly projecting ledge extending from the lower end of the peripheral flange of said base member, an outwardly projecting ledge extending from the upper end of the peripheral flange of said cover member, the ends of said sleeve member being in abuttmcnt with the ledges of said base and cover members.

6. A package as claimed in claim 4 including an outwardly projecting ledge extending from the lower end of the peripheral flange of said base member, an outwardly projecting ledge extending from the upper end of the peripheral flange of said cover member, the ends of said sleeve member being in abuttment with the ledges of said base and cover members.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS RAYMOND N. JONES, Primary Examiner.

10 S. B. DAVES, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A PACKAGE FOR STICK-TYPE PRODUCTS SUCH AS BUTTER MARGARINE AND THE LIKE COMPRISING A BASE MEMBER HAVING A BOTTOM WALL AND UPWARDLY PROJECTING RETAINING MEANS, SAID UPWARDLY PROJECTING RETAINING MEANS SURROUNDING AND RECEIVING THE ENDS OF A PLURALITY OF PRODUCT STICKS IN SIDE-BY-SIDE SNUG RELATIONSHIP, A SLEEVE MEMBER, MEANS FOR JOINING THE OPENING AT ONE END OF SAID SLEEVE MEMBER TO SAID BASE MEMBER, A COVER MEMBER, SAID COVER MEMBER HAVING A TOP WALL AND DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING RETAINING MEANS, SAID DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING RETAINING MEANS SURROUNDING AND RECEIVING THE OTHER ENDS OF SAID PLURALITY OF PRODUCT STICKS IN SIDE-BY-SIDE SNUG RELATIONSHIP, MEANS FOR JOINING THE OPENING AT THE OTHER END OF SAID SLEEVE MEMBER TO SAID COVER MEMBER TO FULLY ENCLOSE AND SUPPORT SAID POLURALITY OF PRODUCT STICKS, SAID BASE MEMBER HAVING A DEPRESSION FOR RECEIVING AND SUPPORTING ONE OF SAID PRODUCT STICKS AFTER THE PACKAGE COMPONENTS ARE DISASSEMBLED TO REMOVE THE CONTENTS THEREOF, SAID COVER MEMBER FITTING ON SAID BASE MEMBER TO COVER SAID PRODUCT STICK WHEREBY SAID BASE MEMBER AND SAID COVER MEMBER COMBINE TO FORM A SERVING DISH. 